


Leadership Role

by TwinVax



Series: Critrole Stories [26]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Episode 26 spoilers, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Sad Ending, Slight fluff, caleb doesnt like leadership, mollys corpse is certainly there, trents teaching influence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 11:57:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15291015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwinVax/pseuds/TwinVax
Summary: Caleb is forced into the leadership role of the Mighty Nein after three are kidnapped and another dies. He doesn't take it well, but tries to do what he thinks is best anyway.





	Leadership Role

He had not woken up to a day he had expected, or wanted. Waking up to discover that three of their group had been kidnapped, by slavers no less, was not a good start at all. Having the others look to him, as though he had any sort of leadership role in the group at all, was also not appreciated. 

He understood that Nott looked up to him, but he didn’t join the group for it. He joined for his and her protection. For the leader, Fjord, to provide them both safety. So he put the leadership on Beau’s shoulders. 

That worked about as well as a cat drenched in water, as the only person they came across with any information ended up flirting more than explaining or being helpful. 

He almost left. He could have left, while the rest slept through the night. He couldn’t though. He couldn’t. He cared to much for Nott and Beau, and even Molly, as much as he couldn’t handle his many colors and loud personality. 

He couldn’t leave his oldest friend and the newer ones. So he complied to the plan they had created. 

With the useless fucking information his worthless spell had pried out of Keg. 

Now, they were all hurt, the slavers had escaped, and Molly was dead. 

The Mighty Drei indeed. What a joke to come back to bite him. Losing four in only a handful of days. 

He couldn’t be the leader, not the way that Nott wanted or Beau tried to push on him. He knew if he did he would resort to the tactics he had been taught. He hated them. 

They had no options though, Beau visibly distraught from what had happened when he was too far away to see what had happened on the other side of the cart, and it was him who had to steady all three of the woman. 

He forced Keg to stand on her feet, getting her up from where Lorenzo had kicked her down. He didn’t blame her, he couldn’t, she didn’t have the right information and the spell he had cast had proved that. That and the fight itself with the multiple fucking magic users. 

He went over to Beau with the dwarf, and sat her down with his fellow human, hearing her mutter, “Fucking dick, he shouldn’t have used his fucking magic. Left himself open for that asshole…” 

“Focus, Beauregard.” He said, voice harsh the way he knew would be listened to, before he walked over to where Nott was sitting, lying back against the slope of the hill. Drinking from her flask and not looking anywhere, drunk. 

He picked her up, getting no resistance from her or complained besides a surprised huff, and placed her down beside the other two, who at that point were standing. 

He knew the options. They were numerous. There was too many, the variables difficult to grasp. He couldn’t choose them all and most weren’t favorable, but. They were the realistic options, and one of them was dead, with no cleric available. 

“We have to return to the Gentleman. Tell him of what has transpired and that our own has been kidnapped. He might help us, if these truly our his rivals, but we can’t go with a corpse. We cannot heal him, we do not know anyone strong enough for that, so we must leave him.”

“That’s bullshit.” Beau growled, eyes red and voice angry, challenging.  

“There is no other option! No cleric, no big diamond, not enough money. We can’t bring him back, and I don’t think his little party trick works twice. We can’t wait to figure it out. We have to move now, get more people with us, and strike at them before our remaining friends become _broken_! Or would you rather that, Beauregard?” 

“No.” Nott whispered, and he remembered clearly how much she had enjoyed playing at being a detective towards Keg. How she talked about Jester, who considered her great at him, how sad she had been. 

They both had made friends of the group, neither wanted to lose them, yet one had been lost. It would be for nothing now if they didn’t try to save the ones who still lived. 

Trent had taught him it wasn’t worth worrying about anyone captured or those dead, but he didn’t believe that. It did not mean he didn’t know when to make a hard choice. They had to go for the others. 

“Our best choice, as I said, is to go back to the Gentleman, and then return with hopefully enough to break our friends free. Hopefully before it is too late for them. But we have to leave Mollymauk. We have to go quickly, and come back as soon as everything is better. Once we have Jester, we can return and bring him back.” 

Beau folded her arms, “I regret saying you’re the leader. Fine, fine. But I’ll hold you to that! We better come back and try to bring him back, once we have the others.” she threatened. 

The threat didn’t worry Caleb. The smile he had was cold and calculated, no time to worry about the choices. “ _Ja_ , but now we must bury him, put a marker, and leave. Keg, you can come if you want. The Gentleman might like to have a former enemy on his side.” 

Keg still looked worried, the lingering fear still in her eyes, but she nodded shakily, “Sure.” 

“Good. Let’s clean up, then move on. Time to go.” He turned, headed towards the body with Nott right beside him, the other two a few feet behind. 

This wasn’t how Caleb had wanted his day to go, but if they wanted him to be the leader, then fine. He would lead, with a bit of the special training he had learned, and would get the others back. 

The rest would come later. 


End file.
